Belarus: The European Union has taken no action to address the issue of asylum seekers
“The European Union has not taken any concrete steps to resolve the refugee crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border,” Maki told Belarus 1 on Saturday, according to IRNA. The problem is that many asylum seekers still want to travel to the EU and join their families.
He added: “Our proposal was to work together (with the European Union) to find a solution to the refugee problem.”
“Unfortunately, we have not received any proposals from our European partners for specific measures,” he said.
In a televised interview, Mackie criticized the new package of EU sanctions on Belarus, saying it was the fifth package of anti-Belarus sanctions not to be taken lightly.
The United States, Britain, Canada and the European Union (EU) have stepped up sanctions against Belarus in a concerted move Thursday night.
The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed new sanctions on individuals and entities close to President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, IRNA reported.
In a joint statement, Western countries said the sanctions were in response to continuing attacks on human rights and fundamental freedoms in Belarus, disregard for international norms and repeated crackdowns.
The new EU sanctions include 17 people and 11 companies and institutions. EU sanctions have also targeted several commanders active in cross-border conflicts, as well as Belavia state-owned airlines and Syrian airline Cham Wings.
The refugee crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border has intensified since mid-November and has been a tense issue between Belarus and the West.
About two weeks ago, several thousand asylum seekers from the Middle East tried to enter the European Union via the Belarusian-Polish border, but were stopped by Polish border guards.
According to Tass, about 2,700 Iraqi refugees have left Belarus for Iraq so far. Most of the refugees were Kurds from northern Iraq, and Iraqi Airlines planes transported them to Erbil.
The last plane to transport refugees left the Minsk airport for Erbil today with 419 people.
The exact number of asylum seekers on the Polish-Belarusian border is not yet known.
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